Josh Hartnett’s Divisive #1 Creature Feature Show Should Be Your Weekend Netflix Binge-Watch

Those looking for a breezy binge-watch series that doesn’t require weeks of viewing to complete, then Josh Hartnett‘s new six-part Netflix series could be just want you need. While many shows have been known for stretching out their storytelling to extend their episode counts, the tight packaging of this spooky season must-watch means that it delivers the kind of quick entertainment you just don’t usually get these days. The plot may sound like the premise of a Stephen King story as remote coastal community Snook’s Arm, Newfoundland, finds itself at the center of a supernatural mystery when the fishing village is attacked by a gargantuan sea creature. If that kind of thing floats your boat, then Below could well be the best thing you will watch this weekend.

Below follows in the footsteps of many creature feature movies like Jaws, Deep Rising, and The Meg in bringing a terror of the deep to the surface, on this occasion in the form of a giant squid. Hartnett plays fisherman Calvin Penney, a man with a dark and traumatic history with the sea thanks to the unexplained drowning of his father several years earlier. Naturally, when a sea monster comes calling, he is the one forced to face it and his fears in order to save his family and the community he calls home. Alongside him are a reluctant team of Dr. Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) and Calvin’s reckless son Wade (Charlie Heaton), who together attempt to take on an ecological disaster that could kill them all.

Below Has Risen to the Top on Netflix With Some Strong Reviews

There are many creature feature projects that suffer for relying too much on CGI and not enough in creating a real sense of threat in a well-developed story. Below manages to avoid much of that with filming taking place entirely on location in Newfoundland, Brigus South and Labrador, Canada, capturing the chilly coastline feel in a way that green screen just cannot quite manage to match. The horror elements of the series provide the expected jump scares and sea monster tropes that are hard to avoid, but showrunner Jesse McKeown also builds in the kind of eco-themes and climate change messages in a way that focuses specifically on how coastal fishing villages are impacted by the worldwide problem. Of course, for many people, it is the promise of a sea monster running amok that really draws in the crowd, and that is probably why Below has been holding a #1 position on Netflix since its debut earlier this week.

Critics have been quick to heap praise on Hartnett’s grounding performance in the series, helping the limited series to its 87% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, although that score does come with a small caveat. While the majority of critics give Below a positive review, they also note at you should not go in with the highest expectations and it will leave you pleasantly surprised. That is perhaps why the audience reviews are lagging a long way behind with a 54% rating and mixed comments that show the divide in the opinions of those tuning in. Some praise Hartnett and the rest of the cast for “well-rehearsed” regional dialect while others have called the accents “horrible” in their low-score reviews, and similarly the best reviews call it one of the best sci-fi horror shows of they year and the worst call it “trash that is not worth your time.” The best way to discover which side of the fence you are on is to check out Below this weekend, or next, and find out for yourself if this tale of the deep is worth the dive.

Is Below on your radar to watch this weekend, or have you already tuned in and helped send it to #1 on Netflix? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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